Compromise possible in PL and EC dispute

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The Premier League (PL) gave the European Commission a final proposal late to put live football broadcast rights out to bid, a move likely to end BSkyB's exclusive hold on top-flight English football.

The Commission had said the PL must make certain that at least two broadcasters have a ''viable and meaningful share'' of live TV rights to assure that viewers and football fans have more choice. ''The Premier League has today written to (EU Competition) Commissioner (Neelie) Kroes in response to her letter last week,'' the league said in a statement. ''We are confident that we have addressed the clarifications sought by the Commissioner,'' it added.

The two sides met last week and the Commission said it liked what it had seen so far. But Kroes also said she wanted more details to make sure the league guaranteed what Brussels has called a ''fair and transparent'' bidding process, ensuring that no single broadcaster wins rights to all the games.

The separate package offered will be reportedly large enough to be attractive to a large broadcaster, but not so big that a smaller broadcaster could not afford to bid. Currently, NTL, ITV and Channel 5 have all expressed interest in bidding for the next auction of PL rights, although the Commission has denied that it ever declared that at least 50% of the rights must be available to another broadcaster to dilute Sky’s exclusivity.

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has held the rights since 1992 and has used the allure of matches by clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to become Britain's dominant pay-TV service. It is paying GBP 1.024bn over three years for the rights to televise games through 2007.